Carrying the wine jar into the kitchen, Luo Mingchen poured out its contents and began counting them.
The amount matched exactly what Huo Yuhui had said.
Looking at the pile of copper coins, Luo Mingchen was puzzled.
“If he had so much money, why did he still have to go out and work?”
“Father was an escort. He had to accompany and protect shipments. Originally, he said that after finishing this trip, he would stay here and start a small business…”
As he spoke, Huo Yuhui looked dejected.
Luo Mingchen rubbed his head.
“Then why didn’t he hire someone to take care of you?”
Huo Xiang answered, “Father did hire an auntie from the village to look after us before, but Cousin Uncle’s family wouldn’t allow it.”
“Huh?”
Luo Mingchen didn’t quite understand.
Huo Yuhui explained, “Cousin Uncle wanted Father’s money. Cousin Aunt often caused trouble in the village, saying that since relatives were around, there was no reason to pay outsiders to care for the children. She said even giving the money to the village chief’s family wouldn’t be acceptable. But whenever we ate at Cousin Uncle’s house, we were never full. Later, after I learned to cook at home, Cousin Aunt would come and steal our rice and flour. After we complained to the village chief, she behaved herself for a while, but before long she’d go back to her old ways.”
Hearing that, Luo Mingchen finally understood why the children’s father had been in such a hurry to find himself a husband.
“Your father really had it tough.”
Luo Mingchen sighed.
Huo Yuhui replied honestly, “Father said that once Little Daddy arrived, if he could protect us, then all the family property would be entrusted to him.”
Huo Xiang sighed as well.
“But Little Daddy arrived several days later than expected. By then, there was only a little cornmeal left at home. Then after you came, you lay unconscious for another two days, and even the cornmeal was gone.”
Luo Mingchen’s head hurt just hearing it, but he still didn’t tell them that he wasn’t actually their Little Daddy.
Besides, since that family had sent him here and given him the token and marriage contract, there was no point bringing it up now.
“Since we have money, let’s go to town and buy some meat. Then we’ll stop by the yamen and ask a few questions.”
After all, the man had left him so much money. Luo Mingchen felt he should at least go collect his body.
Even if there wasn’t a body, a symbolic grave with his clothes would do.
Although Luo Mingchen personally believed that once someone died, everything ended, people in this world clearly cared about such matters.
Since that was the case, he might as well follow local customs.
Guessing what Luo Mingchen intended to do, Huo Yuhui nodded.
“Okay.”
Huo Xiang didn’t understand.
“Little Daddy, why are we going to the yamen?”
“To ask about something.”
Luo Mingchen stored everything in his space, picked up Huo Xinyue, and said,
“Let’s go rent a cart.”
As an ability user, he could travel enormous distances in a day if he wanted to. It was just exhausting.
But these three malnourished children couldn’t handle such a journey. With the sun blazing overhead, they might even suffer heatstroke.
The four of them set off immediately.
After leaving, Luo Mingchen barred the front door. Looking around, he saw green mountains, clear waters, no hordes of zombies, and no extreme weather.
To him, it was paradise.
As for the internet and modern conveniences, after surviving two years in the apocalypse, he had never been heavily dependent on them. Now, he barely thought about them at all.
The only thing he regretted was the university he had just been accepted to. Only a few days after receiving his admission letter, the zombie outbreak had begun…
The village was called Xishui Village and had roughly two hundred households. Their house was relatively remote and located closer to the mountains.
As they walked along the road, the villagers working in the fields all cast curious looks at Luo Mingchen.
In this world, contract brother marriages between men weren’t uncommon. Not every family could afford to marry a wife.
But Huo family’s eldest son had never lacked money. He had simply been worried that if he married a woman and later had biological children of his own, he might neglect the three children he had adopted. That was why he had spent a considerable amount of silver to marry a man from a neighboring village.
Many families with unmarried daughters had lamented the decision.
Then, after Luo Mingchen arrived in the village, he fell gravely ill. Everyone thought he was as good as dead, yet he recovered and even chased away Lin Tianlei and the slave traders the day before.
Ignoring the strange looks from the villagers, Luo Mingchen headed first to the village physician’s home.
Previously, Huo Yuhui had bought medicine from him on credit. Since they had money now, they should repay it first.
Otherwise, people would say they had money to ride in an ox cart and buy meat but not enough to repay their debt to the physician.
As things stood, they would likely remain in the village for a long time.
Offending ordinary villagers wasn’t a major issue, but offending the village physician would make life difficult.
Even if Luo Mingchen rarely got sick, what about the three children?
Besides, it wasn’t as though they couldn’t afford to repay the debt. Luo Mingchen also disliked owing money.
The village physician, a sturdy old man, was sitting at his doorway smoking a pipe when he saw Luo Mingchen carrying one child, holding another’s hand, and following behind a third.
“Where are you all headed?”
“We came to repay a debt.”
Luo Mingchen took out the prepared fifty copper coins and handed them over.
The physician took a puff from his pipe and asked curiously,
“Where did you get the money?”
“The children’s father left some behind before he left.”
When Huo family’s eldest son was mentioned, the physician sighed.
“What a pity about him.”
Luo Mingchen didn’t respond to that. He simply said,
“The money is here. We still have things to do.”
After leaving the money behind, Luo Mingchen departed with the three children.
They rented an ox cart from the village chief’s family.
The village chief and his wife were kind people. Seeing that they were willing to pay, they readily rented the cart to them. Worried that Luo Mingchen wouldn’t know the way, the village chief even had his second son accompany them to the county city without charging any extra fee.
Along the way, the village chief’s son kept talking about how good and capable the children’s father had been.
Noticing Huo Yuhui’s gloomy expression, Luo Mingchen interrupted.
“The dead are gone. Bringing it up only adds to the sadness. Don’t talk about it in front of the children.”
The village chief’s son froze. Looking at Huo Yuhui, who seemed close to tears, he quickly said,
“Sorry…”
After that, he stopped talking about it.
The county city wasn’t very far from Xishui Village. They reached the city gates in about half an hour.
The nearby town was even closer, requiring only a quarter of an hour’s journey.
Having their own vehicle would certainly be much more convenient.
Luo Mingchen wondered how much an ox cart cost. If the price was reasonable, buying one would be worthwhile.
Although he currently possessed a considerable fortune, once he started selling vegetables, he couldn’t keep renting someone else’s ox cart forever.
The county city was bustling with people.
Carrying Huo Xinyue, Luo Mingchen told the two boys,
“Hold on to me. Don’t run around.”
If not for the people who had tried to take them away yesterday, leaving the children at home would have been much easier.
Huo Yuhui answered seriously,
“Okay.”
The four of them went first to the county yamen.
After asking one of the constables, Luo Mingchen learned that the children’s father’s body had never been found.
In a way, that was probably a good thing for the children.
They wouldn’t have to see what their loved one looked like after death.
If they didn’t see it, they wouldn’t be quite as heartbroken. With enough time, the pain would gradually fade.
Suddenly remembering something, Luo Mingchen took out the marriage contract, the token, and the children’s father’s household registration documents.
“Sir, my husband has passed away, but I was never added to the household registry. Can I be registered now?”
The constable asked,
“Uh… where is your original household registration?”
“My family cut ties with me because I refused to leave and insisted on raising my husband’s three children. If I go back, they’ll break my legs. My husband’s relatives are also trying to sell the children, saying my status isn’t legitimate…”
At this point, Luo Mingchen wore a deeply troubled expression.
“Please have mercy, Sir.”
Although he didn’t fully understand the situation, Huo Yuhui still joined in.
“Sir, please help us. We only want Little Daddy.”
Seeing how pitiful they looked, the constable relented.
“Very well. But you’ll need to pay an additional fee for issuing a replacement household registration.”
Luo Mingchen did his best to suppress the smile threatening to spread across his face.
“Thank you very much, Sir.”
Along the way, Luo Mingchen bought a large pig’s trotter, several jin of pork ribs, some flour, dried wood ear mushrooms, kelp, and other dried goods, along with a large jar of salt.
Afterward, he also bought paper ingots and candles for offerings, as well as a large coffin.
The coffin could even be delivered to their home, which was convenient.
On top of that, he purchased an ox cart for three taels of silver.
A horse-drawn carriage was much more expensive, and for now, he couldn’t afford either the purchase or the upkeep.
Since they were already there and had bought the ox cart, Luo Mingchen stored the pig’s trotter and dried goods in his space. The ribs, salt, paper ingots, candles, and other items were temporarily entrusted to the village chief’s son.
Then he took the three children to buy several sets of clothes, a few pairs of shoes, some large steamed buns, and various snacks.
When the village chief’s son learned that Luo Mingchen had bought an ox cart, he looked at the pastries and buns Luo Mingchen had given him and finally couldn’t hold back his concern.
“If you go back like this, the Lin family won’t let you off.”
Luo Mingchen smiled meaningfully.
“Then let them try to take it.”
He wasn’t an idiot.
Besides, if a fight really broke out, it wasn’t certain who would end up suffering.